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Seven Haiku, by Willie Perdomo

 

You check the forecast
Look for a southern fried mood
Cool hawks want to dap

 

Heaven sends a choice
I tell my ears to be still
A cardinal whistle

 

Get used to breathing
The first good slap of daylight
Sunlight stays alive

 

Tongue feels slow right now
Spring shadows hide and talk shit
A storm falls for you

 

So far, thank the gods,
These late replies remain safe
Stay on that ghost tip

 

Send me a signal
I miss the gangster in her
When I don’t get high

 

Hold her with both hands
Smart winds aim to grasp nothing
The sun’s yellow alarm

 

Note: These haiku are part of Big Other’s Puerto Rican Writers Folio: A Hauntology

  • Willie Perdomo is the author of Smoking Lovely: The Remix, The Crazy Bunch, The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon, and Where a Nickel Costs of Dime. Winner of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Cy Twombly Award for Poetry, the New York City Book Award in Poetry, and the PEN Open Book Award, Perdomo was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Poetry Society of America Norma Farber First Book Award. He is co-editor of the anthology, Latínext, and his work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Poetry, Washington Post, The Best American Poetry 2019, and African Voices. He is currently a Lucas Arts Literary Fellow, a core faculty member at VONA/Voices of our Nation Writing Workshop, and teaches at Phillips Exeter Academy.

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